Another x2 built

[Bok]

This time I used an Epox 9NDA3+ mobo which is nForce3 based and mroe importantly AGP as I have a number of AGP cards so this saved me having to buy another PCI-E card.

Happy to say, I flashed the BIOS ok, notched up vcore a little and it's running quite happily at 2.45Ghz. I'll notch it up a little more once it's settled in :)

Bok

[TeeJay]

Originally posted by Bok
This time I used an Epox 9NDA3+ mobo which is nForce3 based and mroe importantly AGP as I have a number of AGP cards so this saved me having to buy another PCI-E card.

Happy to say, I flashed the BIOS ok, notched up vcore a little and it's running quite happily at 2.45Ghz. I'll notch it up a little more once it's settled in :)

Bok
/drool
Hawt Dayum !
:smoking:

[Shish]

Should have my first MSI NV3 going next 2 weeks or so and then I gotta get a 4400 for comparison for the t`other one.
I`m avoiding No3 for the moment for precisely the reason it`s the NF4 Ultra version and no agp.
Also still waiting for the chipset update boards with the new ULI stuff on them for either agp or pci-e option as I want pci-x but not necessarily the graphics and the ATI boards are just too expensive.
Asrock seem to have the best of the ULI chip boards for a very cheap price and performance is really quite good. A bit surprised other manufacturers don`t seem to be doing much with it. Even Abit only has the older chipset.
Certainly better bang for buck than the incredibly priced DFI Lanparty though they are good boards I can`t see them being 3x the price and being vfm.

Not got a 4400 to stick in there for comparison have you? The extra cache should make a bit of difference for what I need though I realise it`s not going to be that much.

Hope there`ll be another price drop before too long so I can afford more cpus cos that`s all I`m aiting for for my next 3 replacements and I`ve got a lot of calls against the money I have available.

[CaptainMooseInc]

so Bok...what's your secret? A family...nice sized one...nice house...nice cars...and the money to afford killer computers???

Exactly what do I have to do to end up like that.... :-p

-Jeff

[LAURENU2]

Originally posted by CaptainMooseInc
so Bok...what's your secret? A family...nice sized one...nice house...nice cars...and the money to afford killer computers???

Exactly what do I have to do to end up like that.... :-p

-Jeff
Make it past 30 alive:rotfl:

[Bok]

That would be about right :crazy:

[Digital Parasite]

Woohoo, I'm all set then. :cheers:

[the-mk]

It's only a matter of time until I get my own 3800 X2 :D

I've already built a home for it, now it's time...

If I'd find some time to drive to my favourite hardware-store :crazy:

[Shish]

Instead of the x2 3800 I think a lot of people should be looking at the Opteron 165.
It has 2x1Meg cache which is double the 3800 and can`t be a bad idea and is a bit cheaper.
Present results from several people who`ve just got them indicates an even better clocking range than the 3800 and several results (actually just got another in the email- makes 9 cpus) shows them doing a bit better and frequently hitting near 2.7Ghz on air as long as you don`t blink at high temps (around 65-70 apparently) .

Definately worth a look I`s say.

[Jeff]

Where are you seeing them cheaper?

Just FYI, Monarch is a horrible place. Right now I've only found them and NewEgg that have the 165s(well... NewEgg has them and Monarch lies about having stuff most of the time so I don't really know if they do). Funny thing is NewEgg is ~$200 more expensive than Monarch. :)

http://www.pricewatch.com/prc.aspx?i=3&a=852991

Just use a bit of caution if you decide to give Monarch a try. I have had them charge my credit card even when they don't have an item in stock... and then they will lie about when they are expecting the next shipment... then they will drag their feet when you want a refund... then you have to contact them multiple times for the same thing... then... etc... etc...

[Bok]

zipzoomfly has them here (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80106-R) for $350 and they are good.

but then they have the 3800+ for $322.

I'd be dubious of the monarch prices too.

Bok

[Jeff]

Man... they must have just gotten them in because I was looking last night all over the place for them and ZZF is my #1 choice anymore.

$350 from a reliable dealer... that's something I may just have to try. I'm *VERY* curious if the 1Mb cache will help out with encoding.

Supposedly these Opterons will work on most 939 motherboards... even though hardly any of them officially support them. May be worth a gamble... but I wouldn't try it if you can't handle dissappointment(just don't want anyone getting upset if they don't work).

[Jeff]

This is your order confirmation. Thank you for shopping with ZipZoomFly!

ORDER NO: Z******24
ORDER DATE: Tue,08 Nov 2005 13:22:46 PST

Ooopppsss... my finger must have slipped. ;)

I will be selling either this chip or an AMD 3800x2 next week. :D Just have to make sure the wifey doesn't find out or it'll be off with my nutts. :eek:

[Fozzie]

man if I bought another dual core without athorisation from accounts central my nuts would only be the first bits to go.

Jeff mate, keep your head donw.

:spank:

[Jeff]

I started a PayPal Buyer's Credit account so the wifey wouldn't get wind of anything. It works out perfect for me because I can almost always pay things off in a few weeks and it isn't something she knows I have... yet. :)

[Shish]

Don`t think they should be any problem running on any 939 pin board which takes dual cores as they are compatible by design according to AMD tho` they may show up as an A64 if the bios can`t name them.
They`re just out in the UK so prices haven`t settled yet but 2 sites listing them (one is Komplett) show the 165 at £10 cheaper than the x2 3800 or £240 for the x2 and £230 for the 165 Optie.
There is a bit of a range inprices just now also due to the various retailers and the recent price adjustments but given the option, and buying from Komplett tomorrow, I definitely would want to save a tenner and get the bigger cache chip which is still likely to clock as well as the 3800.

What I really need just now tho` is a new damn keyboard....have to get onto Logitech soon cos this ones only 3 year old but suffering from too much cigar ash which is not a good lubricant. They`re usually pretty good on replacements which is why I still use them even though they`re a bit more expensive than others.:taz: :flame:

Oh so that`s where my taz went (nickname on the last job) wonder why I can`t get mine to jump...it was when I uploaded it ???? And where`s the "SMOKIN" one gone....don`t tell me we got a NO Smoking site now....god damn it , it`s spreading everywhere.

[Jeff]

Originally posted by Jeff
Just FYI, Monarch is a horrible place.
...
Just use a bit of caution if you decide to give Monarch a try. I have had them charge my credit card even when they don't have an item in stock... and then they will lie about when they are expecting the next shipment... then they will drag their feet when you want a refund... then you have to contact them multiple times for the same thing... then... etc... etc...

:rotfl:
Was reading up on the new Opterons over at XS.org and came across this new Monarch thread...
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=79643

Told you they are horrible. ;)

[Shish]

Somebody from Portugal???????
Sheesh, ain`t he heard of all the EU outfits?
Tell him to look up Komplett and save his time and money.
Good firm as long as you catch the prices.

[willebenn]

Here is a link for a brief review of an Opti 165 and some OCing
Opti 165 (http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=200&page=1)

[Jeff]

Here's what the 165 Opteron is topping out at in my Asus A8N-E...
http://home.earthlink.net/~adventurevision/temp-stats.png

I'm 99.9% sure the motherboard is the limiting factor now since it doesn't have a chipset voltage adjustment. I'm running 300x9 and it will instantly crash at 304x9 no matter what memory divider I try. 301-303 seems stable but for some reason the BIOS won't boot when you have it set over 299(which actually works out to 300).

Going from a 2.53GHz x2 to this 2.7GHz Opteron has saved me around 30% when encoding video... even with the memory speed being retarded to [email protected]. I'm going to swap around some memory here at home so I can try running some 2-2-2-6 action at ~240MHz. ;) Should increase performance very nicely.

BTW, for cooling I'm using a Thermaltake Tower112 (http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/comboCool/cl-p0024tower112/cl-p0024tower112.htm)(monster copper sink).

[Bok]

Wow is all I can say..

I'll order one tomorrow /me thinks :)

Bok

[the-mk]

I've built my first (and maybe only) X2!

Looks like http://www.the-mk.at/pics/X2small.jpg (http://www.the-mk.at/pics/AMD3800X2.jpg) and is homed http://www.the-mk.at/pics/X2homesmall.jpg (http://www.the-mk.at/pics/Home_of_AMD3800X2.jpg)

It's currently running Windows XP but as soon as I've some spare time I'll put a linux on it and do "some" OGR :D

This X2 has an OGR output of my two machines together (Pentium M 1,7 and AMD64 3000)

:cheers:

[Evilmoose]

Im looking to order some parts for mine today.

Any suggestions?

Ive been away from this stuff for awhile, lots of reading to do.:help:

[Bok]

Can't go wrong with an Asus A8N-E mobo I think, or go for the A8N-Sli if you want the extra options. I've also had good results with the DFI Infinity. If you can find an opteron165, then that's the one to go for, but they are scarce right now. So stick with the 3800+.

Other components are any PCI-E card and a 24pin PSU. Any PC3200 memory would be fine.

Bok

[Evilmoose]

Does SLI offer any benifit for us non gamers?

I havve had good luck with asus boards in the past but I am also looking at abit KN8 SLI for the same price as A8N-E.

[the-mk]

Originally posted by Evilmoose
Does SLI offer any benifit for us non gamers?
...

No, I don't think so.

Unless you play games or do professional work (CAD or something like that)

[Bok]

Abit have gone downhill a lot in the overclocking realm recently. If you are planning on overclocking, stick with the Asus or DFI. SLi benefits gamers only, but then you need pretty high end graphics cards anyway and two of them at that..

Bok

[Evilmoose]

Anybody using XP-64 bit edition yet?

I do run auto-cad but not alot at home, I will stick with non SLI for now.

I just found a refubished asus A8N-E for $86 on new egg:)

[IronBits]

Originally posted by Bok
If you are planning on overclocking, stick with the Asus or DFI.
SLi benefits gamers only, but then you need pretty high end graphics cards anyway and two of them at that..

Bok I'll second that recommendation for boards. :thumbs:
/must resist Dual BFG 7800 GTX OCs... for the time being.
ONE works well for now on an HP 2335 23" widescreen at 1920x1200. ;)

Will be building an XP64 bit edition for the next game box with
an X2-4400 and 1Gx2|G.SK 400 F1-3200PHU2-2GBZX ram on an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe when it gets here...
I hope to hit 2.7GHz to match the FX55 performance :)
It will be wearing a ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU HSF...
:crazy:

[LAURENU2]

Can a AMD X2 run on a 98 or ME OS or does it need a XP or server OS to take advantage of the duel core?

[Bok]

Not entirely sure here. The answer is probably. I know Microsoft were pressured by intel/amd into allowing windows to run dual core processors in XP Home, though it will not recognize a dual processor system. They may have done the same on 98/Me with a bug fix but I'm not entirely sure.

EDIT. Just did a quick google search and found this (http://www.mwave.com/mwave/amddual.hmx) which says it is supported.

Bok

[the-mk]

IMHO it needs a "NT" operating system (NT4.0, W2k, XP, any Windows Server) or *NIX.

I don't think that Win9x or ME will support dualcore. I think it might boot and you should be able to "work" with it, but I don't think that you can benefit the dualcore.

What does Win XP Home recognize if you have a Intel Pentium with Hyper Threading? Isn't that listed as a second cpu core or second cpu in hardware-list?

Just my $ 0.02...

[Bok]

XP Home recognizes dual core athlons...

AMD home site says that Win 98 and winMe are supported..

Bok

[Digital Parasite]

I would say that "supported" for 98/ME just means it will run. There is no dual-CPU support in 98 or ME so you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the second core. That would have been one hell of a patch they would need to do in order to get that support in there.

[Scoofy12]

i'd concur on that one. even if it was possible i'm pretty sure there's no way MS would bother putting dual core/cpu support into 9x.

if 9x is what you're running on your farm, i'd suggest going to linux of some kind, and if you're short on time or expertise for that upgrade, just burn a bunch of knoppix CDs and leave them in the drives...

... assuming they have CD drives, which they probably don't.

well, i'd still say it's not worth plunking down the $$ for XP if it's just a cruncher. go with a minimal install of linux (especially if these systems are short on memory!)

[LAURENU2]

Thanks for the Info If I see a good deal for one around here I will pick one up and see how it works:thumbs:

[Evilmoose]

I got XP64 up and running. Had to go with a 3800, Opterons are damb hard to find right now. As soon as I get my NIC working Ill see what it does on rosetta and what kind of OC I get.

BTW the thermaltake big typhoon is the largest HSF ive seen:shocked:

[Bok]

Yeah. can't find 165s or 170s at all, except for Monarch and they are probably lying....

Funnily enough, I just got a zalman 9500 HS/fan today. Put it on my mobo with the opty 170 and it dropped the temps by 12C :)

Running at 2.77Ghz right now... cpu is at 53C

Bok

[Digital Parasite]

Originally posted by Bok
Funnily enough, I just got a zalman 9500 HS/fan today. Put it on my mobo with the opty 170 and it dropped the temps by 12C :)

Those look huge! Any problems fitting it in your mobo/case?

Also, if your kids get a fever, you should consider using your Zalman for this: http://bbspot.com/News/2005/12/cooling_your_kids.html
:jester:

[Bok]

It was actually pretty easy to install on socket 939. You just have to unscrew the two screws holding the 'cage' where the cpu goes, place the heatsink on and then put in a privided clip and put the screws back in again, holding this clip down.

Got it running at 2.8Ghz :) So an 800Mhz overclock..

Bok

[IronBits]

I can't get the stock backing plate to let go of the motherboard, so just screwed it down using the stock one.
Not as much pressure against the cpu that the Zalman backing plate allows but,
works ok with the mobo laying flat on the mobo box on the table ;)
They work great at keeping the ram and other mobo components cooled off.
Anyone know how to force the stock backing plate to let go? It feels like it's pressfitted on there or glued.

[PS2pcGAMER]

If the Inquirer is to be believed, AMD isn't making anymore S939 Opterons...

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28250

[Evilmoose]

I cant seem to get above 220FSB:bang:

I dont know what I could be doing wrong.

I have pc4000 ram so that isnt an issue and even running the multiplier at 8 I cant go over 220. Im even running the HT@ X1.

Any ideas?

[Evilmoose]

I figured it out. Dont use the overclocking utility in windows at least xp64.

Getting much better result now.

Stress testing @250*10.

What is the best any of you guys got with a 3800?

[Bok]

2.64 though that one is throttled back now to 2.5 or so.

I think 2.5 is a great overclock on a 3800+ personally

Jeff got some better results than that and I think IB too.

Bok :cheers:

[Evilmoose]

2.55 seems to be my cap on MhZ. I havent tried over 300fsb yet but It passed @300.

Im still working on ram but 270 tested fine at the 250rated timings.

How much difference does the HT mulitplier make? I still need to test that too.



Getting tired but im happy. I will push it harder later.
currently running stress test @ 9.5*266 - ram @ 10xdivider and HT set at 2X.

[Bok]

Not a huge amount from what I can tell. I put mine all down to 3x :)

Bok

[Shish]

AMD are continuing to make the Opterons but there`s been a changeover in lines or summat and most of the production is either going to OEM or in the process of being restarted.
One site in UK, CPUCity, has stock, but they`re a bit expensive Other sites are saying deliveries resumed after december/xmas rush is out of the way and current stocks of X2s are cleared.
Reckon AMD did finally realise what had happened with pricing boo boo after everybody went mad buying half a dozen at a time.
Other info reckons speed binning was also upset by the new lines coming on stream and most of the 165/170 were top end dies. HE dies are even better apparently but a bit high on price.
May have to considere a dual Opteron though for my next big project once I get these Xmas bills outa the way and get into the new house next year.

[Bok]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20051213122715.html

:elephant: :elephant: :elephant: